Shut Up and Kiss Me
by aikaterini
Summary: A sort of AU fic. After long preparation, Draco finally has the courage to tell a girl how he feels and to ask her to go out with him. But what will the result be?


Disclaimer: Harry Potter? Mine? No way. I'm not the one richer than the Queen of England. J.K. Rowling is.

Additional Notes: Just a pointless one-shot. This was written prior to the seventh book. The female involved is unnamed, so it can be any female you want. Hermione, Ginny… I can't control a reader's imagination. Please enjoy!

All throughout his life, Draco Malfoy had learned how to take advantage of the rewards that wealth and power offered him. Or rather, how to beg and pester his wealthy, powerful father to get what he wanted, whether it was a set of the newest broomsticks for an entire Quidditch team or getting his Care of Magical Creatures teacher sacked. However, Draco had the sense to realize that despite common belief, money and influence didn't get everything. It didn't give him the same amount of fame that Harry Potter had. It didn't hand him the Quidditch Cup on a silver platter. And, he had wearily long acknowledged, it wouldn't ensure that _she_ would go out with him.

Money and influence may impress many, but they didn't impress her. At least, not when they were the only attractive qualities that a person had. No, she looked for more than that, which was one of the things that Draco liked about her, but it did not serve to make his life any easier. He knew that she was not one of those girls who would disregard everything about a guy's intelligence and personality as long as he had money. Sadly, throughout his life, he had always used power and money to impress and have control over others, never stopping to consider that perhaps other attributes could be impressive as well. So the realization that this time, they would be powerless to help him was quite discouraging.

So, he realized that he would have to do it the old-fashioned way, which meant practicing in front of mirrors for hours, constantly revising the words that he would say to her, chasing his roommates out of their dormitory out of fear of being overheard, and glumly admitting to himself by the end of the day that no amount of fancy words or flowery phrases would make her forget his other words to her, which were far from fancy or flowery. He couldn't ask anyone for help, certainly neither of his parents, for he knew that that would involve questions on who the girl was. And that he could not answer.

He kept watching her day by day, desperately trying to see if there was ever a time that she was alone. But of course, he rarely saw any, as she was usually accompanied by at least one friend. He fancied getting her into trouble one day, guaranteeing that the two of them would be alone in detention, but then the teacher would be there, and even if the teacher went out of the room temporarily, she would still be angry towards him, and that would not be very helpful.

One day, he had been so close – so close! She had been alone in the library, reading, of course, and he had been all prepared to go up to her and ask her, when at that very moment, one of her friends had had the nerve to come out from behind a bookshelf and ask her for some book. Furiously cursing to himself, Draco had careened towards the right before she or her blasted friend could notice him.

But he was determined to try again. So when she had turned towards the entrance of the library while telling her friends goodbye, Draco waited until her friends had left and then followed her. He had earlier told Crabbe and Goyle to wait for him in the common room, had mumbled something about wanting to study alone in the library.

As expected, he had walked up to her, after carefully checking each and every bookshelf that was surrounding her to make sure that no one was there. He had made some random comment, and had received no answer. She had seemed determined to ignore him, even raising her book slightly to cover her face. He had attempted to sound smooth and eloquent, even when his hands were sweating and his toes were quivering in his shoes. He had stuttered along the way, of course, even when he desperately tried to avoid it. But finally, he had managed to get it all out.

Draco wasn't sure whether or not he was happy with her response. Thankfully, she didn't do what he had fearfully listed as the worst possible scenarios. She didn't laugh scornfully in his face. She didn't jump to her feet and bolt out of the library. She didn't stare at him as if he were some disgusting, repulsive creature. But she didn't exactly jump for joy, either. She had quickly lowered her book from her face, almost dropping it. Her eyes had widened tremendously, filling with utter astonishment and disbelief. Her mouth had opened slightly, but no sound had come out. Instead she had gaped at him, looking like a gasping fish, before eventually closing her mouth. And then there had been an awkward silence…

So now, there he was, nervously and impatiently waiting for her verbal response. His fingers were crossed behind his back and he was feverishly licking his lips. He watched her eyes, which had been so uncertain and doubtful. They had resumed their natural size, but now, to his disappointment, they were narrowing suspiciously. He braced himself as she opened her mouth.

"How about _never_?! Is 'never' good for you?!"

Stunned, Draco recoiled, his backbone tingling with a sudden chill. Then, comforting himself by some pathetic hope that he could change her mind, he steeled himself and began to move towards her. "Well, I –"

"No," She stood up and pointed a threatening, accusatory finger at him, halting him. "Stay there. Don't come anywhere near me. I refuse to be near a racist, spoiled brat who makes fun of people just because he feels like it."

"But –"

"You insult me; you insult anybody that you think is lower than you, which is more than half of the student population, and you don't do anything even remotely nice."

Draco's hurt and disappointment had vanished. In their place were frustration and vexation. "Couldn't I –"

"You are absolutely infuriating in every way: you never fail in being unfair to others and then you complain about them being unfair to you. You brag and gloat just to make yourself look good when all you're doing is making yourself look like an idiot because everyone knows that you're a whiny coward who runs away at the first sight of danger –"

_Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue_, he silently chanted in his head while clenching his teeth. Couldn't she be quiet so that she could let him explain more?

"And you never give me a break. How can you expect me to agree to go on a date with you when you've been so horrible over the past years? For your information, I am not a masochist nor am I one of those shallow, simpering sycophants who drool all over a guy just because he has a lot of money –"

_Patience is a virtue… oh, forget it_. Of the many things Draco had been accused of, virtuous had not been one of them. _Okay, how about this: patience is a useful asset, patience is a useful asset, patience is a useful asset…_

She, however, was not done. In fact, she seemed to be getting more worked up by the minute. "And just how stupid do you think I am, that I'll suddenly believe that you really want to go out with me because you really like me, and not because some stupid prat in your House dared you to? Do you really think –?"

To Draco's relief, her words began to grow less loud and more unclear and vague. Her voice started to turn into a distant, background drone. But his relief soon turned into mortified horror as he realized that the reason for this was because he was now fixated on her lips, which were moving at a terrific pace. _No, no, no…_

"–And furthermore, you've never been considerate, never –"

_Shut up, shut up_, Draco demanded as a desire to silence her with something other than a spell surfaced. Although, he wasn't sure if he was addressing her or that pesky, persistent urge in his head. _Shut up or I'll do it for you…_

But she was still ranting and raving, even waving her hands around for emphasis. "If you think – _mmph_!"

Losing all traces of patience that he might have possessed, Draco finally caved in to his desire. Crossing the short distance between them in a few steps, he seized her by the arms, yanked her against him… and kissed her.

She was too shocked to react. She only stiffened as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. She didn't respond to his kiss, but she didn't pull away either. When Draco finally let go of her, she still stood there, frozen, her eyes stretched wide again.

As Draco breathed raggedly, trying to catch his breath, she slowly brought her hand up to her mouth. She touched her lips gingerly, softly laying her fingers on them. She brought her fingers away from her mouth and stared at them. Then she slowly raised her head to look at him, her eyes flickering with wonder and bewilderment, and her cheeks stained with an awkward blush.

But just when Draco thought that he might have changed her mind, he heard, rather than saw, the sound slap to his face and felt his cheek blaze with an intense sting. Now it was his turn to gape, while holding his injured cheek in one hand. _Guess reality really bites_, he thought bitterly. _No, it slaps you silly._

"What on earth do you think you were doing?!" he heard her screech. He turned to face her and saw that her eyes were flashing furiously, her hands clenched into fists, and her entire frame shaking with rage.

"What do you think?" he shot back, now regretting that he had ever asked her. His cheek was still throbbing from the slap, but somehow it didn't hurt as much as Draco's insides did. _I never should have asked her, never should have asked her, I knew she wouldn't say yes…_

For once, she didn't have an answer. She was still glowering at him, but her fists unclenched and hung limply at her sides and her lip trembled. She reddened more and looked down at the ground.

_Fantastic, another awkward silence_, Draco thought dryly. He sighed and pushed his fair hair out of his face. _I guess what they say is true. You can't have everything._

He had just finished that thought when suddenly he felt her arms lock around his neck. Startled, he barely had time to think when he felt her mouth on his. He stiffened briefly, but then eagerly kissed her back. He felt one hand at the back of his head, tangling in his white-blond hair, the other reaching around his shoulders in a close embrace. He tightened the hug by putting one arm around her shoulders and the other arm around her waist. They let go momentarily for air, both of them breathing heavily, still locked in each others' embrace. Draco looked down at her. She looked up at him with dreamy eyes and swollen lips, and then she tilted her head up to kiss him again.

By now, Draco didn't care who saw them. His mind was in a daze. _So that's it? All I had to do was kiss her?_

When she let go, he barely managed to get out, "I –"

"Shut up, Draco," she murmured and Draco had to oblige as he lowered his head to kiss her again.


End file.
